By Ransdell Pierson

NEW YORK(Reuters) - Abbott Laboratories Inc. said Wednesday that quarterly profit rose 5 percent on strong sales of arthritis drug Humira and other medicines, although results were hurt by charges from its recent acquisition of products from medical-device maker Guidant.

The suburban Chicago company earned $716 million, or 46 cents a share, in the third quarter. That compared with $681 million, or 44 cents a share, in the 2005 period, when Abbott's profit fell on a variety of other charges.

Excluding special items, Abbott earned 58 cents per share in the latest quarter, matching the average expectation of analysts polled by Reuters Estimates.

Sales were up 3.5 percent to $5.57 billion, topping the Reuters Estimates projection of $5.49 billion.

Sales jumped almost 15 percent, however, when including revenue from the new Guidant vascular products, but excluding revenue in the 2005 and 2006 quarters from several discontinued drugs.

The drugs, including arthritis treatment Mobic, had been sold by Abbott under a long-term arrangement with German drugmaker Boehringer Ingelheim that ended in January.

Bank of America analyst Glenn Novarro said results from almost all the company's biggest drugs beat his sales projections.

"Abbott is no longer promoting Boehringer Ingelheim's products, so that freed up Abbott's sales force to back its own key drugs," Novarro said.

Third-quarter sales of Humira, a monoclonal antibody for rheumatoid arthritis that requires less-frequent injections than rival drugs, soared more than 50 percent to $541 million.

Sales of anti-convulsant Depakote jumped 29 percent to $339 million, while HIV treatment Kaletra rose 13 percent to $294 million.

Sales of Tricor, used to lower triglycerides, gained 18 percent to $266 million, while antibiotic Omnicef leaped 56 percent to $135 million.

Synthroid, a thyroid hormone replacement drug, rose almost 10 percent to $149 million.

"Abbott showed strength across its drug portfolio," said Leerink Swann analyst Bruce Cranna, citing surprisingly strong sales growth for Humira, Depakote and Synthroid.

But Cranna said the company plowed much of its pharmaceutical revenue into research and development and into sales and marketing programs, which crimped overall profit in the quarter.

"It was a really good quarter, but I'm a little disappointed there wasn't a little more bottom-line strength," Cranna said.

Although Abbott predicted Humira will post sales of $2 billion this year, Bank of America's Novarro said the drug could post future annual sales of up to $3.5 billion if it wins approvals to treat psoriasis and Crohn's disease.

Novarro said future company earnings will also be bolstered by the Xience drug-coated stent, just launched in Europe, which Abbott acquired through its purchase in April of Guidant's vascular intervention business.

He expects the device, used to prop open coronary arteries, to post annual global sales of $1 billion by the end of 2009.

Abbott's diagnostic products also fared well in the quarter, with sales rising almost 9 percent to $1 billion.

Sales of the company's line of nutritional products rose about 4 percent to $1.06 billion.

Abbott said it expects fourth-quarter earnings of 73 cents to 75 cents per share, excluding special items, in line with Wall Street projections. It sees full-year earnings of $2.50 to $2.52 per share, within the range of its previous forecast.

Abbott shares were up 38 cents to $47.57 on the New York Stock Exchange, in line with modest gains for the drug sector.

(Additional reporting by Edward Tobin)